Life After Death
by NicNacs
Summary: Despite the title, this is *not* a death fic. The Slayerettes face a deadly demon. Yet another Buffy/Highlander crossover (you can never have too many).


Life After Death   
By NicNacs   
  
***   
  
[AN - Anya, Tara, and Riley don't exist. I never liked them anyway.]   
[AN2 - Not mine. Honest.]   
  
***   
  
Rupert Giles, former High School Librarian and current magic shop owner, pulled the dead body of Buffy Summers, Slayer, to the side of the library and placed it next to those of Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. Then he surveyed the wreckage. The library had been a wreck before; nobody had rebuilt the school after graduation. It was just worse now. He collected up the scattered weapons and stowed them carefully in the boxes he had bought for that very purpose. Finally, Giles took the time to change his clothes, which were rather bloody.   
  
After he had done this, he sank to the floor and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.   
  
*** 18 Hours Earlier ***   
  
It had all started with another demon, and another prophesy. Giles discovered both at the same time. They were on the same page of the book, because they were related. Buffy had come to him early that morning, moaning about prophetic dreams, demons and death. He started the research immediately. Now it was morning, and the Slayerettes were skiving their college classes to gather at the magic shop and help him. At least, Buffy, Willow and Oz were. Xander, of course, was skiving off work.   
  
"Oh, dear God."   
  
"Uh, oh. Giles only says that when something terrible is going to happen."   
  
"Buffy, Giles says that on average once a week."   
  
"And your point?"   
  
Giles interrupted Buffy and Xander's bickering to explain the problem. "If you would? Thank you. The prophetic dreams you were having, Buffy, point to a major demon arising in the next few days. I have been able do determine which particular demon we will be dealing with, and the probable location of it's entry into this world."   
  
"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Willow looked hopeful for a moment, but her hopes were soon dashed when Giles continued.   
  
"That is the good news. The bad news is, there is a prophesy involved." Everybody groaned.   
  
"Not another prophesy! Haven't we had enough of those yet?" complained Xander half-heartedly. Giles wisely ignored him.   
  
"I'm afraid that only a group of four people can kill this particular demon, by thrusting spears into it at precisely the same time as each other. The other problem is, that everyone involved will die. *Everyone*." Silence greeted this statement, which was unsurprising really. Buffy eventually found her voice, such as it was.   
  
"You want me to choose which three of my friends to sentence to death?"   
  
"No," replied Giles, glad that he had an answer for her. "Let me make a few phone calls, and then I'll explain."   
  
Not waiting for the nods of the teenagers, he moved into the back room to use the phone in relative privacy. It was a measure of how stunned everyone by the prophesy that no-one moved to follow him, and no-one tried to eavesdrop.   
  
***   
  
As Giles listened to the ringing at the other end of the telephone, he experienced a sudden pang of guilt. He wondered how Joe would react to hearing from him again, after all this time. He hoped his friend wasn't too angry with him.   
  
His thoughts were interrupted by a click, a thud, and a muffled curse from the phone.   
  
"Hello?" The voice was distracted, but blessedly familiar.   
  
"Joe. How've you been?" There was a silence which spoke louder than a thousand words, and then Joe spoke, sounding vaguely puzzled and suspicious.   
  
"Who is this?"   
  
"It's Allen Paul." Giles held his breath as he waited for the response. He didn't know what he would do if Joe didn't believe him. Joe was the only way he had of finding out the telephone numbers he needed, short of hacking into the Watcher database, but he didn't really want to do that since he was bound to get caught.   
  
"Allen Paul is dead. I saw him shot."   
  
"I know. Sorry about that. It wasn't exactly my idea. I've been shot enough times to not want it to happen again."   
  
"You're Immortal."   
  
"Yes, I am."   
  
Joe sighed heavily. Another Immortal in the Watchers. You wouldn't think there'd be so many. Part of the sigh was because he knew what was coming. He went through the same thing with MacLeod on a fairly regular basis.   
  
"What do you want? I assume you didn't reveal yourself on a whim."   
  
Giles didn't waste time protesting.   
  
"I need some phone numbers. Old friends."   
  
"You know that's against the rules. Non-interference, remember?"   
  
"Please, Joe. It's important. I need their help."   
  
Another sigh.   
  
"Fine. Who do you need to find?"   
  
Giles quickly thanked whichever deity was looking out for him at the moment, and then turned his attention back to his old colleague.   
  
"Duncan MacLeod, Amanda and," Giles racked his brain for a moment trying to remember if the Watchers knew about Ben. "Never mind, I don't think the other one is in the database. Amanda will probably know how to get hold of him."   
  
"One we don't know about? How about a trade? You tell me his name, and I'll tell you how to get hold of MacLeod and Amanda."   
  
Giles winced. Be was not going to be happy about this, but he needed the help of his Immortal friends, and he needed it soon.   
  
"Benjamin Adams."   
  
"Benj... oh, Adam Pierson. I know about him already." I, not we, Giles noted. Could it be that Ben was a Watcher and Joe was protecting him? That would explain why Joe was having so little difficulty with the fact that Giles had hidden in the Watchers for a while.   
  
"So," he prompted, "Where's Mac?"   
  
"On a remote island with no way of contacting the outside world. Amanda and Adam are with him. They needed a chance to escape some of the awful things that have been going on recently. Mac's student died about a week ago."   
  
"Is there no way of contacting him at all?"   
  
"No. He's due back in a couple of days. I could give him a message if you like."   
  
Giles thought for a moment. A couple of days was too long. The demon would rise before they could get there. He had an alternative plan, but he was very reluctant to use it. And he would still need some help. It wouldn't be fair of him to ask that of Mac if he'd just lost a student, but Ben owed him a favour.   
  
"Don't worry about Mac, but could you tell Ben, sorry, Adam, that Miles is calling in that favour that he owes me. I'm in Sunnydale, California. It's quite urgent."   
  
"Ok. Oh, and Allen?"   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"One day, you and I are going to have a long talk about how so many Immortals are able to infiltrate the Watchers."   
  
Giles grinned.   
  
"A little paranoid, are you Joe?" Joe just snorted.   
  
"Goodbye, Allen."   
  
"Goodbye Joe."   
  
Giles put the phone down and sighed. He made his way out into the shop and gently cleared his throat to get the attention of the teenagers. Someone had been to the shop down the road, he noticed. There was now a half-empty box of donuts on the table, precariously balanced on top of a stack of priceless books.   
  
He absently picked out a donut while thinking how to phrase this. He was about to give the slayer and her friends some very bad news, and some very good news. He wondered how they would cope. It wouldn't surprise him at all if they took the whole thing in their stride, just as they had taken countless other challenges in the years he had known them.   
  
"I was hoping to get the help of some Immortals I know, but they appear to be unreachable. Fortunately there is another option."   
  
It was the Hellmouth that provided the problem, but the Hellmouth also had enough mystic power to draw the answer to it.   
  
*** Flashback ***   
  
Buffy Summers walked into the library just as Giles was about to come out of the stacks.   
  
"Hello?"   
  
Giles approached his new Slayer, but as he did he could barely restrain the shocked comment that his brain sent to his lips. He only blinked a little as he asked her if she was Miss Summers, but his mind was racing.   
  
Another pre-Immortal? Was he *really* sensing another pre-Immortal or was it just her Slayer-ness? But then he'd never felt anything from any of the other Slayers he had encountered. It was just highly unusual to find two pre-Immortals together, let alone *three*. When he had arrived in Sunnydale and established himself as the librarian, he had quickly met Willow Rosenberg, a dedicated student who spent a lot of time in his library. Giles had been astounded to realise that she was a pre-Immie, and even more astounded when she brought her friend Xander to the library to study.   
  
"Good call. Guess I'm the only new kid."   
  
He could worry about the Immortal business later. Perhaps it was an effect of the Hellmouth. Now it was time to be a Watcher to the Slayer. He moved to the issue desk and pulled out a large tome. It landed with a thump on the counter.   
  
Vampyre.   
  
*** End Flashback ***   
  
"Buffy, Willow, Xander and I will face this demon."   
  
The room exploded.   
  
"*What*? You expect me to agree to that? You want me to send Willow, Xander and you to your certain deaths? Are you crazy?"   
  
"No," Giles answered, and paused, not sure how to explain this. In the silence, brief though it was, Oz picked up on the other thing he had said, and commented in his usual laconic way.   
  
"Immortals?"   
  
Giles slipped easily into lecture mode, for a brief moment forgetting the purpose of the conversation.   
  
"There are a group of individuals called Immortals. They have accelerated healing. A paper cut would heal in seconds, more serious wounds take longer, but even mortal wounds can be recovered from. They die, but heal and are resuscitated. There is one way in which the Immortals can truly die - if their heads are cut off." Giles ignored the 'ewww', not sure which of them had uttered it.   
  
"Immortals challenge each other to duals to the death. The winner receives the loser's Quickening, which is their life-force. In the end, there can be only one, who will win the ultimate Prize. Nobody is quite sure what the Prize is, but Immortals fight for it anyway. Or rather, some do. Some just go through their lives, only fighting when challenged, trying to stay alive."   
  
Giles paused, assessing the reactions of the Slayer and three Slayerettes. He decided to get to the point. Willow looked fascinated, and Oz was unreadable as usual, but the others were practically fidgeting. "Immortals can sense each other. They call it the Buzz, because that's what it feels like. It serves as an early warning system, and to prevent innocent mortals getting challenged. Some can also sense pre-Immortals."   
  
Willow leaned forwards slightly. "What's a pre-Immortal?"   
  
"Before an Immortal dies for the first time, they age normally, heal at the normal speed, and cannot feel other Immortals. That is a pre-Immortal. When they die, whatever age that is, they will remain that age for their whole life." Seeing that they understood the meaning, but not the relevance, Giles continued.   
  
"Which brings us back to the prophesy."   
  
"At last!"   
  
"I wish you could have been a few years older before you had to find out about this, but I can't see any other way to defeat the demon, since my friends cannot get here in time."   
  
It was Willow who put the pieces together first, her brain taking giant leaps in an effort to understand why Giles had so suddenly acquired a death wish for himself and the teenagers. "Are we pre-Immortals?"   
  
Giles nodded, pleased.   
  
"How do you know? How can you be sure?" Buffy was now intent, she wanted to be absolutely sure before she put her friends lives at risk. Giles looked at her silently, willing her to understand.   
  
"Only Immortals can sense a pre-Immortal," Buffy whispered, almost to herself. "Giles, just how old *are* you?"   
  
"Eight hundred and thirty three. I was born in the twelfth century."   
  
Silence greeted this statement.   
  
"So," Buffy started hesitantly, "Willow, Xander and I are going to be like you? Immortal?"   
  
"Yes. Which is how we can beat the demon and the prophesy. Do you believe me? I mean most people want some sort of proof..."   
  
"Giles, we believe you. We've dealt with weirder." Willow nodded her agreement.   
  
"Speak for yourself, Buff. I'd like some proof. If only to see what the G-man can come up with to actually *prove* this."   
  
Giles sighed. "I'd like you all to know that I don't enjoy doing this, and I have no intention of doing it more than once, so don't ask." He fetched a towel and a knife, and sat back down at the table. Rolling up his sleeve, he exposed his arm. Giles grit his teeth. Then he sliced his wrist open.   
  
Buffy cried out in horror as her Watcher started bleeding. She jumped up to put pressure on the wound, but he restrained her. He was stronger than she had realised.   
  
"Just watch."   
  
Before her astonished eyes, the wound began to heal, flashes of blue energy crossing the gash until all that remained was a thin red line. Soon even that was gone, and Giles wiped away the blood to expose a perfectly healed wrist.   
  
"Happy now?" At Xander's mute nod, Giles rolled his sleeve back down.   
  
They began to seriously plan the attack on the demon.   
  
***   
  
It had to be the High School library. Everything always came down to the library. After all, the Hellmouth was directly underneath it, so it was to be expected. It made Giles wonder how the school had survived as long as it had.   
  
As they entered the school, Giles went over the plan in his head. It was simple. Surround the demon, and plunge the spears into it simultaneously. Getting two of the spears to the other side of the demon without dying, that would be the challenge. Specifically, his and Buffy's challenge, since they were the best fighters.   
  
He didn't know how the deaths would occur, just that they would. The prophesy was most specific about that.   
  
They could hear the roaring of the newly-risen demon. It sounded big. They had reached the library doors, and now they pushed them open. Buffy and Giles rushed at the demon, Willow and Xander hanging back to allow them time to get past it. The battle was short and vicious, but soon the demon was surrounded. Willow and Xander moved in.   
  
"On three!" yelled Buffy. "One, two, three!"   
  
They plunged their spears into the demon.   
  
At first, they thought nothing was going to happen, but then a wind began blowing. Soon it was a gale. Giles found that he couldn't let go of the handle of his spear, and he saw that the others were having the same problem. The spear was growing warm. Soon it was too hot to touch, but still his hands stayed glued to it. Then Giles convulsed as electricity flowed through him from the spear. The same electricity was racing over the demon's skin. It looked a little like a Quickening, but it felt like being electrocuted.   
  
Nasty way to die, was Giles' last thought before he closed his eyes and slipped into oblivion.   
  
***   
  
Giles awoke first. First deaths always took longer than later ones, so he wasn't expecting Buffy and her friends to wake up just yet.   
  
He pulled their dead bodies to the side of the library. Then he surveyed the wreckage. The library had been a wreck before; nobody had rebuilt the school after graduation. It was just worse now. He collected up the scattered weapons and stowed them carefully in the boxes he had bought for that very purpose. Finally, Giles took the time to change his clothes, which were rather bloody.   
  
After he had done this, he sank to the floor and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. It would not be long now. Soon, they would awaken.   
  
***   
  
Willow glanced around the Magic Box furtively. Giles was occupied with a customer. Good. She was fairly certain he wouldn't approve of what she was about to do. There was no-one else in the shop, so Willow swiftly made her way to the step ladder in the back.   
  
A final glance at Giles confirmed that he was still busy. Quickly Willow climbed up to the book shelf on the second floor. Pulling out the front books, she reached behind and started flicking through the tomes of complicated spells and rituals until she found what she was looking for.   
  
The book fit easily into her backpack. It was swiftly followed by several magical items that Giles normally hid from the public since they were too dangerous to play with.   
  
Down to the shop floor once again, and another glance at Giles. He was finishing a sale, and would soon be free to wonder where she was. Dropping the backpack behind the table, Willow put on her most innocent face and went to join the older man.   
  
***   
  
"He should have been here by now." Giles was in a foul mood, which could have something to do with the fact that Buffy was consistently beating him whenever they sparred. Giles knew that he would not be able to manage three students, even if one of them was already fairly proficient with weapons of any sort.   
  
That was why he had called the favour in from Adam, without telling him what the favour was. His friend did not like students, and Giles knew he would have refused to help train Willow and Xander. Buffy needed little help. He wondered if he had somehow discovered what the favour Giles wanted was, but that was unlikely.   
  
It was five days since the teenagers had died, and Joe had said it would be three days before Adam could get here. Luckily he already knew about vampires and Slayers - Giles wasn't sure how old Adam was, but he had suspicions. In five thousand years he was bound to run into a few demons and Slayers.   
  
Giles wished his ancient friend would hurry up. He was tired of being killed by Buffy. It was someone else's turn.   
  
***   
  
Buffy entered the graveyard confidently. She knew the layout well, having spent many hours here, so was unlikely to bump into anything in the near-darkness. Willow and Xander were meeting her in five minutes. They were going vampire hunting, something that they did more often now that they couldn't die. It worked out quite well, and Oz could spend more time with the Dingoes without worrying about Willow's safety. The Dingoes appreciated it, since it made up for his 'time of the month' absences.   
  
Suddenly, Buffy stiffened, feeling the Buzz of another Immortal. Her Slayer senses had somehow combined with the Immortal Buzz to give her an advantage others didn't have - she could tell the difference between the Buzzes of Immortals. Right now, her senses told her that she had not met this one before, so it wasn't her friends. Quickly pulling out her sword, Buffy moved forwards cautiously.   
  
There. A movement in the shadows.   
  
"I see you, you may as well come out."   
  
The figure stepped into the light, such as it was. He was fairly tall, and looked young, not much older than Buffy herself. Buffy knew that meant nothing.   
  
"I'm Buffy Summers." Her voice was neutral, betraying no fear even though she was quaking in her boots. She wasn't fully trained yet, had only been training for three days, she could never win against an older Immortal. Please let him be friendly.   
  
"Adam Pierson."   
  
Buffy relaxed. "In that case, you're late." The man blinked in surprise. "Giles said you'd be here by now," she explained. Adam cocked his head enquiringly, and did not relax.   
  
"Giles? I don't believe I know anyone by that name."   
  
"Oh, sorry, you'd know him as Miles Rubelt, wouldn't you?"   
  
At last, Adam relaxed. But only for a second, because they both felt the Buzz of another Immortal. Buffy relaxed again a moment later when she recognised the feel of her friend. She sheathed her sword, earning an odd look from Adam   
  
"Xander! Over here."   
  
"Hey Buff... he's not Willow." Xander had obviously sensed two Immortals and assumed that they were the two he was going to meet.   
  
"No, he's not. He's the late Mr Pierson." Buffy wondered how many times 'Mr Pierson' had died.   
  
"Funny, Buff. Witness me laughing. Ha. Ha. Ha."   
  
Buffy turned her attention to Adam and introduced him to Xander. Just then, Buffy felt Willow's Buzz and called her over.   
  
"What is this, a convention?"   
  
"No, we were going vampire hunting. You were just an added bonus." Buffy grinned at him and introduced Willow when she reached the group. Adam was giving her a funny look.   
  
"What?"   
  
"How did you do that? You knew who was coming."   
  
"Long story," replied Buffy, "but everyone's Buzz feels different to me. I'm sure Giles will explain it in his usual rambling manner."   
  
Adam nodded as if reassured that they really did know Giles, and then raised an eyebrow. "Can we go and see him now, or are you expecting anyone else?"   
  
"Nope, that's us." Buffy cocked her head, listening to something only she could hear. "But we do appear to have one extra." She faced a clump of bushes and announced in a loud voice,   
  
"I'm not in the mood for hide-and-seek. Show yourself."   
  
Angel stepped into the light.   
  
"You've improved," he noted.   
  
"Angel! What are you doing here? I thought you were in LA?"   
  
"Well I couldna be staying in LA now that the pesky clause has gone from me curse, now could I?"   
  
Buffy blinked, thrown for a moment by the thick Irish brogue which had suddenly appeared. Then his words registered.   
  
"Really?" she whispered. He only nodded, and then she was in his arms, hugging and kissing him fiercely until they were interrupted by a not-so-polite cough.   
  
"Guys?" Willow was beaming from ear to ear, but Xander was just impatient. "You've got eternity. Can we go see Giles now?"   
  
Adam, meanwhile was staring at Angel in complete shock. When Angel's attention was no longer so firmly fixed on Buffy, he noticed Adam.   
  
"Ben?"   
  
"Angel?"   
  
They spoke at the same time. Adam continued. "You've aged gracefully. It's been what? 80 years? And you haven't changed at all. But you're not one of us."   
  
"Neither have you, Ben. You look exactly the same." There was no trace of the Irish accent.   
  
Buffy interrupted, wanting to get to Giles house. "Adam's Immortal, Angel's a vampire (but don't stake him), neither one of you is going to age, yada, yada, yada."   
  
The five moved off towards Giles' house. Buffy and Angel were holding hands in silence, listening to Willow and Xander talk to Adam. Adam was keeping a wary eye on the vampire as he walked along.   
  
"I don't get it," he confessed. "Vampires are evil, and the three of you were going vampire hunting before I turned up, and yet Buffy seems glad to see this one. Why?"   
  
"Oh, Angel has a soul," said Willow happily. "He was cursed. But if he had a moment of pure happiness, he would lose it again."   
  
"Not pretty," Xander put in.   
  
"But now that restriction has gone, he can be with Buffy, which is what they both wanted anyway." Willow sounded a little smug. Intrigued, Buffy listened carefully as Xander gave Willow a teasing look.   
  
"Willow? Have you been playing with Giles' advanced magic books again?"   
  
"Who, me?" Willow giggled. "What ever would give you that idea?" She turned serious after that. "It was one of the first things I did after we cleaned up the demon entrails. I have so much more power now, it's amazing."   
  
Buffy felt a rush of gratitude and resolved to find some way to thank the redhead. Adam looked like he was going to ask something, but shook his head and muttered something that sounded like "Demon entrails? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"   
  
Turning her attention to the handsome vampire at her side, Buffy sighed contentedly. Angel noticed her looking, and smiled tenderly. Then his curiosity caught up with him, and he asked the question that he had been thinking ever since the meeting in the graveyard.   
  
"What's an Immortal? And why do you have a sword?" Buffy explained the events of the past five days, and watched as Angel's face lit up. He would never be alone again, since his soul mate was as immortal as he was, and he didn't have to worry about the curse any more.   
  
They soon reached Giles' house, and felt the Buzz which told them that he was at home. At the enquiring looks of the others, Buffy nodded.   
  
"It's him," she confirmed.   
  
She stepped forward and knocked on the door, calling out as she did so. "Just us, Giles. Your friend got here at last."   
  
Giles brought his sword to the door anyway, she noticed. When he saw for himself who was at the door, he relaxed and let them in.   
  
***   
  
"Good to see you again, Adam."   
  
"I would say the same, but I have a feeling that I'm going to regret coming."   
  
"You're probably right," acknowledged Giles. "I know how much you hate taking on students." He noted with some amusement the panicked expression on his old friend's face. I knew it was a good idea not to tell him what I wanted until he got here, he thought.   
  
"Not likely, Miles. No way."   
  
"Don't worry, Adam, I'm not expecting you to take on all three."   
  
"Three?!"   
  
Giles chuckled and nodded as Adam threw a look at the three youngest Immortals in the room. They grinned at him. The older man was starting to look truly afraid, so Giles put him out of his misery.   
  
"I know you hate students, but I can't cope with three at the same time. I thought you could train Buffy while I concentrate on the other two. I think you'll enjoy teaching Buffy. She's the current Slayer."   
  
Adam really was getting the best end of the bargain, and he knew it. After a little more persuading, he reluctantly agreed to train Buffy.   
  
"But only Buffy, mind," he warned them.   
  
"Great!" Buffy was getting quite enthusiastic about the idea of training with Adam. Perhaps she was as bored of killing Giles as he was of being killed. "When can we start?"   
  
"Oh, I think tomorrow is soon enough. It's late and I only just got here. Do you have somewhere to use for training?"   
  
"We've been using the back room at the magic shop. It's a little crowded now that three of us are using it, but it's better than nothing."   
  
"Why don't you meet me there after class?" Adam saw Buffy's pout and became stern. "Just because you're going to live forever doesn't mean you can neglect your mind."   
  
The teenagers left soon after that, but Adam and Giles stayed up late into the night, drinking beer and reminiscing. They had known each other for about 700 years, and for most of that Giles had been a Watcher. He had been in charge of more Slayers than he could remember, but Adam had been around for millennia and had known five times as many Slayers as Giles, even though he tended to avoid vampires, demons and other life threatening situations. He had been a Watcher as well, but he always stuck to research. They had a lot to talk about.   
  
***   
  
Buffy landed on her backside for the tenth time in the past five minutes. Adam was a lot better than Giles, and she had yet to keep her feet in a fight, despite not making the same mistake twice. She had died several times. But she was improving, and it was time to make sure Adam knew that. This time, she was expecting the fall. She had deliberately made the same mistake as during the last fight.   
  
Each time she had fallen before, she had sighed, and got slowly to her feet to try again. This time was different. Adam was appropriately surprised when she swept her feet round, knocking him off his feet. Buffy jumped to her feet as he fell, bringing her sword up at the same time, and a moment later Adam was on the floor with a large bloody gash in his chest. He wasn't breathing.   
  
"Gotcha," Buffy told his corpse smugly. She sat down and began cleaning her sword while she waited for him to wake up.   
  
***   
  
Adam Pierson gasped for breath as life returned to his body. He sat up quickly and located his student, calmly sitting at the side of the room. She looked up.   
  
"Welcome back."   
  
Adam just grunted. "Very good, but can you repeat it?"   
  
Buffy raised an eyebrow amusedly, and put away the cleaning kit. Bringing her sword around, she approached him confidently.   
  
"Let's find out."   
  
***   
  
Giles was not doing quite as well with his students. Xander was using the military instincts that he had picked up a few Halloweens ago to good effect, but Willow was having trouble.   
  
"I just don't want to hurt you, Giles," she complained when he told her off for the hundredth time.   
  
"Well, pretend I'm a vampire. And remember that you can't really hurt me anyway. Willow, someday your life may depend on this. Please, try."   
  
Willow's face took on a determined look, and she brought her sword into the ready position once more. She *would* get this right.   
  
***   
  
Days turned into weeks, which turned into months. The three new Immortals completed their training, and Adam gratefully departed. Angel and Buffy spent a lot of time exploring their renewed relationship. Buffy told her mom about her new life and Joyce, shocked and amazed at first, quickly realised that she no longer had to worry about her daughter dieing fighting the forces of darkness. She wasn't entirely happy about Angel's reappearance, but once they assured her that his soul was now permanent, she was able to see how much they clearly adored one another.   
  
The four Immortals now had an advantage over the vampires of Sunnydale, and often went hunting together. The vampire population was severely reduced. However, they never managed to dust them all. Whenever there was a vacancy, new demons moved into town. It was a never ending battle, but fewer demons were trying to bring about the apocalypse, so they chalked that up as a success, however temporary.   
  
Life settled into a routine.   
  
***   
  
In the end, it was not a demon, or an evil warlock, or some other product of the Hellmouth that forced Buffy and her friends to leave Sunnydale.   
  
It was a postal worker.   
  
Buffy, Xander and Willow were at the mall, hanging out at the food court. Oz was finishing a practice with the Dingoes, and would be there in about half an hour. Later they would realise how lucky it was that he was missing. Their cheerful conversation was interrupted by the sound of gunfire.   
  
All three of them jumped up to find the source, their world-saving instincts taking over. The disgruntled postal worker chose that moment to swing his gun towards the food court. If they had still been sitting down, they might have escaped with flesh wounds, but they weren't.   
  
The last thing each of them saw was the face of the man, pulling the trigger of his gun with an expression of pure joy.   
  
When they woke up they were in the morgue, and Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris were officially dead.   
  
***   
  
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Giles?" Buffy, Willow, Xander and Angel were at the Watcher's house where they had been hiding while they sorted out their new identities.   
  
"No, someone has to keep an eye on the Hellmouth, and it obviously can't be you. Besides, for some strange reason I seem to have grown fond of this place."   
  
Saying their goodbyes was hard. Many tears were shed, and hugs were exchanged. They all knew that this would be the last time they would be together for a long time. Buffy, Willow and Angel were going to LA. Cordelia and Doyle were running Angel Investigations while Angel was here, and Buffy and Willow were going to join them.   
  
Xander was going to New York, to join the army. Since he had become Immortal, the memories of his Halloween as a soldier were clearer, and he knew he would go a long way. He was going to try for a position on a special operations force.   
  
Despite being dead, life looked good.   
  
THE END


End file.
